Recently, a large-capacity magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) using a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element has been expected and attracted attention. In the MTJ element used in the MRAM, one of two ferromagnetic layers sandwiching a tunnel barrier layer is handled as a magnetization-fixed layer (reference layer) having a magnetizing direction fixed not to be easily varied, and the other is handled as a magnetization free layer (storage layer) having an invertible magnetizing direction.